1982 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1982 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 5–6 at the Kibbie Dome at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.[1][2]

1982 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1981–82
Teams	4
Site	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho
Champions	Idaho (2nd title)
Winning coach	Don Monson (2nd title)
MVP	Ken Owens (Idaho)
Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournaments

1981–82 Big Sky men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Idaho †	13	–	1		.929			27	–	3		.900
Montana	10	–	4		.714			17	–	10		.630
Nevada	9	–	5		.643			19	–	9		.679
Weber State	6	–	8		.429			15	–	13		.536
Boise State	6	–	8		.429			12	–	14		.462
Idaho State	5	–	9		.357			14	–	12		.538
Montana State	5	–	9		.357			11	–	18		.379
Northern Arizona	2	–	12		.143			6	–	20		.231
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Top-seeded Idaho defeated Nevada in the championship game, 85–80, to clinch their second consecutive (and second overall) Big Sky men's basketball tournament.[3] Entering the conference tournament, Idaho was 24–2 and ranked sixth in both national polls (AP, UPI),[4] then fell to eighth in both final polls the following week.[5]

Format

First played in 1976, the Big Sky tournament had the same format for its first eight editions. The regular season champion hosted and only the top four teams from the standings took part, with seeding based on regular season conference records. Idaho's sole conference loss was to Montana in Missoula.[6]

Nevada–Reno made their first Big Sky tournament appearance in their third season in the conference.

Bracket

	Semifinals Friday, March 5					Championship Saturday, March 6
	1	#6 Idaho	57
	4	Weber State	55
						1	#6 Idaho	85
						3	Nevada	80
	3	Nevada	97
	2	Montana	93

Sources:[7][8][9]

NCAA tournament

As Big Sky champions, the Vandals received an automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Tournament and were the third seed in the West region.[10] Idaho received a first round bye, then played Iowa in the second round in neighboring Pullman, winning in overtime.[11] In the Sweet Sixteen, the Vandals fell to fourth-ranked and second seed Oregon State in Provo, Utah, and finished with a 27–3 record.[12][13]

The Big Sky has had a berth in the NCAA tournament since 1968; Idaho was the conference's sixth team to advance and the fifth to play in the Sweet Sixteen. Since then, only three Big Sky teams have advanced past the first round (Weber State in 1995 and 1999, Montana in 2006), and none went past the Round of 32.

References

1. Killen, John (March 5, 1982). "No. 6 Idaho opens its second season tonight". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
2. "1981-82 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
3. Killen, John (March 7, 1982). "Vandals dream of another playoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 3C.
4. "Vandals No. 6". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). wire services. March 2, 1982. p. 13.
5. "UI wins but falls to No. 8". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). wire services. March 9, 1982. p. 17.
6. Missildine, Harry (March 5, 1982). "Monson expects tougher tourney". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 15.
7. Killen, John (March 6, 1982). "Vandals pull out the plug on Weber St., 57-55". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
8. Sahlberg, Bert (March 6, 1982). "Nevada-Reno pulls a surprise on Montana". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
9. "Vandals are just glad to be in tonight's final". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). March 6, 1982. p. 11.
10. "Pullman: It's Vandal country". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). March 8, 1982. p. 19.
11. Van Sickel, Charlie (March 15, 1982). "Vandals: Sweet Sixteen and..." Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 15.
12. Killen, John (March 19, 1982). "OSU gets even, Idaho gets next year". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
13. Blanchette, John (March 19, 1982). "Idaho, Idaho – No! No! No!". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 13.